Song lists

100% home-made arrangements and original music, classified by language, function, theme and season.

Details:

Repertoire by language English, Romance and Germanic dialects, and difficult languages - Russian, Welsh, and Breton	Repertoire by season St. Valentine and love; St. George, the dragon, and other monsters; Christmas
Repertoire by theme Weird, maritime, industrial, London, self-referential, economics, ballad, animal, dance, migration	The seven ages of man From the cradle to the grave, focusing on songs for children, and about love, war, and death
Audio excerpts Virtual samples from the organ-grinder's repertoire	Suggestions
How to write... Barrel organ arrangements and a particular genre of poetry.

Please note:

All these street organ arrangements for my modifed Topsy 3 are home-made. Contact me if you want a custom arrangement - whether a modification of a number below or something new - for your own street organ, musical box, barrel piano, or whatever.
The MP3s below use Virtual Studio Technology: this is NOT the real sound, and someone needs to sing!
Lyrics or translations can be displayed live on a screen, karaoke-style.

Title	Artist	La	Year	Comments
Sleeping Beauty	George Szirtes	en	2016	A telling fragment from one of my favourite contemporary poets.
Pablow the blowfish	Miley Cyrus	en	2015	Almost as good as Fluffy. Video, possibly from another time or person:
Shibboleth	Reginald Pikedevant		2014	Brief ditty on the onomastic pitfalls of the United Kingdom.
Déu, vull ser artista, al meu cor / God, I want to be an artist, in my heart	The Singing Organ-Grinder	ca en	2014	Hi ha més estrofes, cada menys políticament correcta / Each verse increasingly unlikely to get past today's censors.
The Eddic Poem of the Vikinges Who Do Go Berserk	Le Vostre GC	en	2014	Nyne vikinges and a mightye troll / Joyne eight moore for sea patrol.
Croquetón / Sausage Man	The Singing Organ-Grinder	es en	2013	Incidental music written for a children's story by Eva Muñoz about what happens when your food comes fast and in Godzilla-sized portions. Virtual excerpt: Video, possibly from another time or person:
Villancico linuxero	Pánico en el núcleo (Panic in the kernel)	es	2011	Linux carol disparages Windows and Mac, makes Spanish nerds laugh: Que le den al Guindos, que le den al Mac, / que yo uso Linux y me va genial.
Lady Java	Oracle / Lady Gaga	en	2010
Anys i anys... per molts anys!	Club Super 3	ca	2001	Catalan birthday song, obligatory fare during school gigs in and around Barcelona.
Gacela del amor imprevisto	Lorca / Sans Rancune / The Singing Organ-Grinder	es	1998	Lorca as universal revolutionary instead of reinventor of the Castilian romance: La sangre de tus venas en mi boca, / tu boca ya sin luz para mi muerte (reggaecito cojito con tango)
Cats on Mars	The Seatbelts	en	1998	Quasi-Japanese shit for your miniskirt moods. Video, possibly from another time or person:
My pervert doppelganger	Momus	en	1997	Best song to mention Smithfield market, 'where refrigerated lorries unload dead cows.'
Copla del viudo del submarino	Juan Antonio Canta	es	1996	From the last Andalusian avant-gardist: En el fondo del mar tengo yo / Una novia en silencio / Un poquito de pescaito frito / Me trae su recuerdo Video, possibly from another time or person:
Te quiero	Juan Antonio Canta	es	1996	Macabre ballad of frustrated love from the great farewell album of the last Andalusian surrealist, Las increíbles aventuras de Juan Antonio Canta, set to a marionettish accompaniment.
Bacteriën / Bacteria	Willem Wilmink / Harry Bannink	nl en	1996	One of Wilmink's so-called intermezzos. When uncle Steve had had a poo / He scraped by hand each glob of goo / From his scrawny bum etc etc
Miss van Houten's Coffee Shoppe	Martin Newell	en	1995	Great number from the wild man of Wivenhoe's Off White Album.
Een jongen krijgt een meisjesbrief / A boy receives a girlish note	Willem Wilmink / Harry Bannink	nl en	1995	One of Wilmink's so-called intermezzos. So in / My palace in the tallest tower / I read that round name, hour by hour: / Eva Cohen. Video, possibly from another time or person:
The heart asks pleasure first	Michael Nyman		1993	From The Piano. Someone asked for it once. Advantage: I don't sing.
Carloons in the Anguish languish	Doc Clay	en	1992	Thrill your friends with a homophonic carol service featuring classics like 'Oh, ladle down off Bath lay him' and 'Shingled hells'.
Appellation contrôlée	Fay Lovsky	en	1992	Chanson pseudo-française: nostalgia for bad French wine. Video, possibly from another time or person:
George is my horse	Fay Lovsky	en	1992	George says he don't like these cars / These stone trails, where's the grass? Fay was last seen playing singing saw with Robert Crumb.
Emigranten	Willem Wilmink / Harry Bannink	nl en	1990	One of Wilmink's so-called intermezzos. Veel emigranten over zee / nemen al hun gewoontes mee / naar de overkant.
Mooi was die tijd	Corry Konings	nl	1990
I can get along without you	Chas and Dave	en	1989	Great ballad from the kings of London pub rock
Naar de speeltuin	Heleentje van Capelle met de Karekieten en het Orkest Zonder Naam	nl	1987
Kleine jodeljongen	Manke Nelis	nl	1987
Fungus the Bogeyman	The Singing Organ-Grinder	en	1985	Inspired in some fashion by Raymond Briggs' graphic novel.
Super Mario Sheep			1985	Mashup created for an agricultural theatre event.
Theme from Terminator			1984	Next project: Arnie-style organ.
Ik verscheurde je foto	Koos Alberts	nl	1984	One of the greatest laments in the Dutch repertoire: I tore up your photo / Your letters I've burnt / In my heart I'm weeping / Though I pretend I weren't.
Estoy tocando fondo	Viudas e hijas de Roque Enroll	es	1984	Where the fondo may be the International Monetary Fund.
Himno de la Comunidad de Madrid	Agustín García Calvo	es	1983	Muy bueno por irónico: Sólo por ser algo, ¡soy madrileño! (Cfr. Cánovas: Son españoles... los que no pueden ser otra cosa) Video, possibly from another time or person:
Fluffy	Gloria Balsam / Richard van Dorn / Davey Sayles	en	1980	Her doggie gets lost in the woods, and Gloria is very sad: 'Here, Fluffy, where are you?' Video, possibly from another time or person:
Song for the British Working Class	Cornelius Cardew	en	1979	Albanian scansion for one of the Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist–Leninist)'s more curious attempts to connect with normal people: Persisting in the face of every difficulty / In 1979 was formed our new party, a glorious victory. / Rallying to this flag is the only way, workers / To usher in, a bright new day of / Socialism in Britain.
Rainbow connection	Paul Williams / Kenneth Ascher		1979	As sung by Kermit the Frog in The Muppet Movie. With the pop sonnet by Erik Didriksen.
You're wondering now	The Specials	en	1979	Break/termination marker.
A Martian sends a postcard home	Craig Raine	en	1979	Caxtons are mechanical birds with many wings / and some are treasured for their markings - / they cause the eyes to melt / or the body to shriek without pain.
Sonho meu	Maria Bethânia / Gal Costa	pt	1978	Hit from Caetano Veloso's little sister. Video, possibly from another time or person:
Hit me with your rhythm stick	Ian Dury	en	1978	Tropical stylee.
You're the reason our kids are ugly	Lorretta Lynn, Conway Twitty	en	1978
Smurf song	Pierre Kartner	nl	1977
Aan de Costa del Sol (tingelingeling)	Trad. German-Italian / Johnny Hoes / Zangeres Zonder Naam	nl	1975?	Waltz, apparently stolen from Trentino in the Tyrol - see the links.
Synonyms / Shumba	Thomas Mapfumo / The Singing Organ-Grinder	en	1975	Flagrant misuse of chiShona material by Zimbabwe's most interesting singer. Video, possibly from another time or person:
Brave Sir Robin	Monty Python	en	1975	Packing it in and packing it up / And sneaking away and buggering off / And chickening out and pissing off home / Yes, bravely he is throwing in the sponge. See also John Grubb, St. George for England.
In 't kleine café aan de haven	Pierre Kartner	nl	1975
Inland waterway	John Betjeman / Ben Sawyer	en	1974	On the opening of the Upper Avon Navigation by the Queen Mum in 1974, part of the irresistible rise of the Inland Waterways Association: The lock you have reopened will set free / The heart of England to the open sea.
The socialist ABC	Alex Glasgow	en	1973	Now Daddy was a lodge chairman / In the coalfields of the Tyne / And his ABC was different / From the Enid Blyton kind.
An hini a garan	Trad. vannetais / Alan Stivell	br	1973	Her man has emigrated in search of work.
Ik ben Gerrit	Gerrit Dekzeil	nl	1973	My name is Gerrit and I steal like the ravens, / I am a rogue in the eyes of the goody-goodies. / But what can you do if you have nothing / In this world where everything's a con. Video, possibly from another time or person:
Jan Klaassen de trompetter	Lennaert Nijgh / Boudewijn de Groot / Rob de Nijs	nl	1973	The life and loves of Jan Claesen, a legendary Dutch figure, supposedly trumpeter in the army of Frederick Henry of Orange-Nassau, afterwards a type of Punch figure.
Veerpont / The Floating Bridge	Drs. P (Heinz Polzer) / The Singing Organ-Grinder	nl en	1973	The proprietor of a floating bridge over the River Lea at the Anchor & Hope philosophises, in my translation, regarding the good times and the bad: We stand here on the banks of a river swift and hot / The other shore is over there and this one here is not.
Willow's Song, aka The Wicker Man Song	Paul Giovanni / Rachel Verney	en	1973
Peppi en Kokki intro		nl	1972	Dutch 70s absurdist children's show. Video, possibly from another time or person:
Brucia la terra	Giuseppe Rinaldi / Nino Rota	it	1972	Swing version of theme from The Godfather / Il Padrino.
Magic egg	Barrow Poets	en	1972	Found on a 60s LP. The video is of another piece. Gerard Benson was one of the figures behind London's Poems on the Underground. Long, long ago before time had begun, the moon lost a pebble and away through space it spun, in the world far below only water could be seen, it sank down to the bottom and it lay there like a dream. Video, possibly from another time or person:
Manuela	Jacques Herb	nl	1971
King of Rome	Dave Sudbury / June Tabor / The Unthanks	en	1970s?	A pigeon race from Rome to England in 1913: On the day o' the big race a storm blew in / A thousand birds were swept away and never seen again.
Postman Pat / Pat el Cartero / Postmann Pat	Bryan Daly / Ken Barrie	no en	1970	In English or Norwegian. Virtual excerpt: Video, possibly from another time or person:
Theme from the Magic Roundabout	Alain Legrand		1970	The bits featuring a barrel organ were more popular in Germany. Video, possibly from another time or person:
Las tetas de María Guevara	Perucho Aguirre / Quinto Criollo	es	1970	Absurd song about an absurd pair of Caribbean peaks: navigational and erotic aids.
Het dorp / La montagne	Wim Sonneveld / Jean Ferrat	nl fr	1970	Another Dutch plundering of French repertoire: nostalgia available in both languages.
Run, Samson, run	The Click Kids	en	1970	Run, Samson, run, Delilah's gonna get you, / Run, Samson, run she's gonna cut your hair, / Run, Samson, run, you're gonna lose your power / You're gonna go to prison and lie down dead.
I don't eat animals and they don't eat me	Melanie Safka	en	1970	Things were pretty bad in the 70s: I don't eat white flour, white sugar makes you rot, / Oh, white could be beautiful but mostly it's not.
Huilen is voor jou te laat	Corry en de Rekels	nl	1970
Plegaria para el senador Robert F Kennedy después de su asesinato	Hermanitos García	es	1970
Junk	Paul McCartney	en	1970
Ernie (the fastest milkman in the West)	Benny Hill	en	1970
Love me tender	Elvis Presley	en	1970
Flocon, papillon (Fabulettes)	Anne Sylvestre	fr	1969	En souvenir de notre grand ami, Christophe Quinton: Il neigera, il neigera / puis un jour le printemps viendra / Et sur les branches il neigera / des fleurs de pommes et du lilas. Virtual excerpt:
De Soldatenmoeder / The Soldiers' Mother	Zangeres Zonder Naam / Singing Organ-Grinder	nl en	1969	A Dutch neo-broadside ballad about the Vietnam War in my translation. Probably unintentionally, its theme is similar to Brecht's Mother Courage, but the treatment is more startling and profound.
River man	Nick Drake	en	1969
Lily the pink		en	1968	See also the Ballad of Lydia Pinkham
De glimlach van een kind (Toi tu voudrais)	Gerrit den Braber / Willy Alberti / Jean Kluger / Daniel Vangarde	nl	1968
Good morning, how are you?' 'Shut up!'	Ivor Cutler	en	1967	Don't give me the small talk, give me the big talk. Cutler's songs are both for and about children. Virtual excerpt:
I'm happy	Ivor Cutler	en	1967	And I'll punch the man who says I'm not. A boxing classic to be.
Darling, will you marry me twice?	Ivor Cutler	en	1967	Cartesian doctrine in micro format.
I'm going in a field	Ivor Cutler	en	1967	Green grass, yellow flowers / My lover’s eyes are blue.
The bare necessities (The Jungle Book)	Terry Gilkyson	en	1967
I wanna be like you (The Jungle Book)	Sherman Brothers / Louis Prima	en	1967
Theme from Star Trek	Alexander Courage / Gene Roddenberry		1966	With scam-meister Gene Roddenberry's lyrics.
Goldilocks and the three bears	Afferbeck Lauder	en	1965	In English, but also in Australian or Strine: Girldie Larks, Girldie Larks, where have you been? / I beat up London and vented my spleen, / And then I cummome menai harrased the Behrs; / I yay tarp their porridge and bro karp their chairs. / I savaged the beds and I tordan the fences. / And frightened a little mouse out of its senses.
One-note samba (demo version)		en	1965	Used in how-the-organ-works talks.
Colonel Bogey	Kenneth Alford / Tijuana Brass		1965
The slow train	Flanders & Swann	en	1964	A nostalgic look at the Beeching cuts. Video, possibly from another time or person:
Amsterdam huilt / Amsterdam weeps	Kees Manders / Zwarte Riek / Singing Organ-Grinder	en nl	1964	Extraordinary Dutch khazan-style lament about the genocide of Amsterdam's Jewry. Evocative not only of the pre-nationalist-socialist ghetto, but also of a world still subconsciously recalled by Dutch wedding and light musicians. My translation.
Los tres cochinitos	Cri-Cri / Francisco Gabilondo Soler	es	1963?	Three little piggies are snoring in bed, and they're all dreaming about something different.
Doctor Kitch	Lord Kitchener	en	1963	A girl asks a doctor for an injection, but his needle's very big and she moves a lot, and the penicillin ends up in the wrong hole.
Hungarian Goulash No. 5	Allan Sherman / Johannes Brahms	en	1963	Do you like Hungarian food / They have a goulash which is very good. (Pumpernickel is also associated with Westphalia.)
Ta Katie t'a quitté	Boby Lapointe	fr	1962	Pour une sonnerie, c'est une belle çonnerie! Legendary tonguetwister. Virtual excerpt: Video, possibly from another time or person:
James Bond theme	John Barry		1962	Quasi-ska version. Virtual excerpt:
Rhythm of the rain / Ritme van de regen	The Cascades / Rob de Nijs	nl en	1962	Also on the soundtrack of Quadrophenia.
Little boxes ('Ticky tacky')	Malvina Reynolds	en	1962	We all look just the same.
Thème des vacances (Jules et Jim)	Georges Delerue	fr	1962
De blinde soldaat / The blind soldier	Zangeres Zonder Naam	nl	1961	A soldier back from the front can't see his new-born son because he has lost his sight.
La patita	Cri-Cri / Francisco Gabilondo Soler	es	1960?	What will Mother Duck give her ducklings to eat now dad refuses to work and the market is so expensive? Video, possibly from another time or person:
Ratón vaquero	Cri-Cri / Francisco Gabilondo Soler	es	1960?	Cowboy mouse
Perrito	Cri-Cri / Francisco Gabilondo Soler	es	1960?	Doggie
Di por qué, dime abuelita	Cri-Cri / Francisco Gabilondo Soler	es	1960?	Children's song which treads a fine line with grandma: Tell me why you're teeth are gone / And your hair's like the foam of the sea.
Canción de las vocales	Cri-Cri / Francisco Gabilondo Soler	es	1960?	Vowel education from Cri-Cri, an incredibly popular children's series.
Crazy	Patsy Cline	en	1960	För Sveriges största gitarrist, Tom Coskeran. Done as a waltz
As long as he needs me	Lionel Bart	en	1960	Great torch song from Oliver.
Brazil / Aquarela do Brasil	Ary Barroso / Jimmy Dorsey / Xavier Cugat	en	1960	Samba: Where hearts were entertaining June / We stood beneath an amber moon
Strange	Patsy Cline	en	1960	Strange how you stopped loving me ... when she came along.
Ballad of Sigmund Freud	Chad Mitchell Trio	en	1960	Well, Doctor Freud, oh Doctor Freud / How we wish you had been differently employed / But the set of circumstances / Still enhances the finances / of the followers of Doctor Sigmund Freud
Puff, the magic dragon (Puff, el drac màgic)	Leonard Lipton / Peter Yarrow / Peter, Paul and Mary	en ca	1960
Manhã de carnaval	Luiz Bonfá / Antônio Maria / Perry Como	en	1959	Bossa nova recounting significant parts of my life: I'll sing to the sun in the sky, / I'll sing till the sun rises high.
Cowboy Billy	Jan en Jules	nl	1959	Part of the European craze for local cowboys. Video, possibly from another time or person:
On the ning nang nong	Spike Milligan	en	1959	Where the cows go Bong!
Zuiderzeeballade	Willy van Hemert / Joop de Leur / Oetze Verschoor / Sylvain Poons	nl	1959
What a difference a day makes	Dinah Washington	en	1959
Poisoning pigeons in the park	Tom Lehrer	en	1959
Inflation calypso	ET Mensah	en	1958?	Pidgin English highlife from post-independence Ghana, now with extra verse about deflation. Useful for introducing basic economics to small beings. Video, possibly from another time or person:
Elube (Mi Churri, gran perrito/My doggie, big little doggie)	Ndirande Pitch Crooners / The Singing Organ-Grinder	en	1958	The original song in Nyanja (Malawi) is about a girl, but it scans like a dog biting its tail, and so my English version is a homage to all the little doggies out there.
The super supper march	Dr. Seuss / Dean Elliott	en	1957 / 1971	Hungry, hungry, I am hungry / Table, table, here I come. Virtual excerpt:
Concerto for Barrel Organ and Orchestra / Brass Band / Wind Band / Piano etc	Bernie Green		1957	The organ-grinder has at last got a serious classical gig but can't throw off the habits of a lifetime. With bleeding chunks of Tchaikovsky (1st Piano Concerto), Rachmaninov (2nd Piano Concerto), Greig (Piano Concerto), Fučik (Entry of the Gladiators) and Waldteufel (Les Patineurs). Virtual excerpt:
The hippopotamus song	Flanders & Swann	en	1957	Mud, mud, glorious mud, / Nothing quite like it for cooling the blood.
Till there was you	Meredith Willson / Beatles / Peggy Lee	en	1957	Sophie Tucker never sang it.
De crocus en de hyacint	Dorus / Tom Manders	nl	1957
Tulpen uit Amsterdam / Tulips from Amsterdam	Ralf Arnie / Van Aleda / Max Bygraves	nl en	1956	Typically Dutch: a German waltz about Turkish flowers. Virtual excerpt:
The country's in the very best of hands	Gene De Paul / Johnny Mercer / Al Capp	en	1956	From the 1956 Broadway show, Li'l Abner: The Treasury says the national debt is climbing to the sky / And govermnent expenditures have never been so high. / It makes a feller get a gleam of pride within his eye, / To see how our economy expands, / The country’s in the very best of hands…
Tea samba	ET Mensah	en	1956	Ghanaian tea ad from the 50s.
Sunday Mirror	ET Mensah	en	1956	Highlife ad for a 1950s Ghanaian newspaper.
The abominable snowman	Ogden Nash	en	1956	I've never seen an abominable snowman, / I'm hoping not to see one, / I'm also hoping, if I do, / That it will be a wee one.
Nellie the elephant	Ralph Butler / Peter Hart	en	1956	Donald has asked me to revive this classic: Nellie the Elephant packed her trunk / And said goodbye to the circus / Off she went with a trumpety-trump / Trump, trump, trump.
Che sarà, sarà / Qué será, será / Whatever will be, will be	Doris Day / José Feliciano / Pink Martini / The Jukebox Sisters / Dave Cash	en es it nl yi	1956	Waltz
De postkoets / La diligence	Jos Cleber / Ferry van Delden / De Selvera's / The Cats	nl	1956
Chella llà	Renato Carosone / Marino Marini	it	1956
I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus OR I saw mommy kissing Yog-Sothoth	H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society	en	1955 OR 2011	Innocent entertainment from when all families were normal OR Christmas fantasy about the Myths of Cthulhu.
A woman in love	Frank Loesser		1955	Modified transcription of a broken-down French organ-grinder's version of this Broadway standard.
La Complainte de la Butte	Jean Renoir / Georges van Parys / Cora Vaucaire / Zaz / Rufus Wainwright	fr en	1955
El baile de los pajaritos / The birdie song / De vogeltjesdans	El payo Juan Manuel / Werner Thomas / Johnny Hoes	es nl en	1955
When you are old and grey	Tom Lehrer	en	1953	On request only. Virtual excerpt:
Vecchia pianola	Katyna Ranieri	it	1953	An old pianola recalls the good times: Vecchia pianola d'un tempo, / d'un tempo passato, / tu mi ricordi il bel tempo, / il bel tempo che fu.
April in Portugal	Pérez Prado Orchestra		1953	Cha-cha, with grunting.
I hold your hand in mine, dear	Tom Lehrer	en	1953	I press it to my lips / I take a healthy bite / From your dainty fingertips.
I know an old lady who swallowed a fly	Burl Ives	en	1953	I think she'll die.
The Irish ballad	Tom Lehrer	en	1953	Parody that says it all: About a maid I'll sing a song, / Sing rickety-tickety-tin, / About a maid I'll sing a song / Who didn't have her family long. / Not only did she do them wrong, / She did ev'ryone of them in, them in, / She did ev'ryone of them in.
How much is that doggie in the window	Bob Merrill / Patti Page	en	1953	The one with the waggly tail. Lita Roza's version was Maggie Thatcher's favourite song.
The old dope pedlar	Tom Lehrer	en	1953	When happiness is a powder, from the well-known Harvard mathematician.
Frosty the defrosted snowman	Lonzo and Oscar	en	1953
I'm no communist	Carson Robison / Scotty Wiseman	en	1952	Cold War country alla Ronald Reagan: I'm no communist, I'll tell you that right now / I believe a man should own his own house and car and cow / I like this private ownership, I wanna be left alone / Let the government run its business, and let me run my own.
L'âme des poètes	Charles Trenet	fr	1951	Homage (with barrel organ allusions) to the poet and painter Max Jacob, who died en route to Auschwitz: Long after the poets have disappeared their songs still walk the streets.
Mexico	Zangeres Zonder Naam / Luis Mariano	nl fr	1951	Paso doble in de stijl van de film Le chanteur de Mexico
Marijuana, the devil's flower	Mr. Sunshine and his Guitar Pickers	en	1951
Bananas	Machito	en nl ca	1950	The mambo king indulges in a bit of self-parody. Available in English, Catalan or Dutch. Video, possibly from another time or person:
Time to go home (Andy Pandy)	Maria Bird	en	1950	We didn't have a telly, but for some reason it's still familiar. Video, possibly from another time or person:
Don't laugh at me, cause I'm a fool	Norman Wisdom	en	1950	A hit by a minor British star dearly loved by Albanians during the dictatorship.
Joe Louis was a fighting man	The Dixieaires	en	1950	Another boxing number.
South of the border	Gene Autry / Patsy Cline	en	1950	Bolero
Masanga	Jean Bosco Mwenda		1950	Congolese finger-picking classic.
Victory test match	Lord Beginner	en	1950	Cricket, lovely cricket, at Lord's where I saw it
Santa Bárbara Bendita		es	1950	Emblematic mining accident at the Pozo María Luisa, Asturias in 1949.
Abruzzo forte e gentile	Tommaso Coccione	it	1950	Instrumental from a popular 30s Italian musician.
Yo tengo un moco	Trad. / Wagner / Mozart / Pierre Degeyter / traductor comunista desconocido	es	1950	Mashup with kazoo of a Spanish children's song about eating your bogies, The Mastersingers of Nuremburg, Eine kleine Nachtmusik and the Internationale ('Arise ye starvelings from your slumbers').
Take you meat out me rice	Lord Kitchener	en	1950
Smoke, smoke that cigarette		en	1950
Aan de Amsterdamse grachten	Pieter Goemans / Johnny Kraaijkamp / Wim Sonneveld	nl	1949	Nostalgic waltz. Video, possibly from another time or person:
Unemployment Compensation Blues	Les Pine / Barbara Dane / George Browne	en	1949	And when I'm through with my weekly routine, / I spend my money on Benzedrine. / I've got those 'By the time I get my check, / I become a nervous wreck' blues.
Enjoy yourself (it's later than you think)	Guy Lombardo / Prince Buster / Specials	en	1949	Because when you kiss a dollar bill, it doesn't kiss you back.
Capri-Fischer / Fishermen of Capri (Bella, bella Marie)	Rudi Schuricke / Gerhard Winkler / Ralph Maria Siegel	de en	1949	Wenn bei Capri die rote Sonne im Meer versinkt: Lola sings this tango in Fassbinder's Wirtschaftswunderbar, but the version by Gracie Fields is also rather special.
London is the place for me	Lord Kitchener	en	1948	Sung by Lord Kitchener as he came off the Windrush at Tilbury Docks on June 21, 1948 Video, possibly from another time or person:
The blue Danube	Spike Jones	en	1945	It's green.
Diep in m'n hart	Jaap Valkhoff / Ernst van ’t Hoff / Willeke Alberti	nl	1944	Slow foxtrot
Karussell (Wir reiten auf hölzernen Pferden) / Carousel (We ride on wooden horses)	Leo Straus / Martin Roman	de en	1944	Translation of a song from the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp. When you get off, will you be able to stand up? Quotes the Wiener Praterleben waltz by fellow-inmate of Death's waiting-room, Siegfried Translateur.
Stalin wasn't stallin'	Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet	en	1943	An American gospel quartet lauds Uncle Joe's revenge on his old friend Hitler.
Hindernisrennen / Steeple Chase / Chasse á Coure	The Ramblers		1943	Splendid little novelty number, originally featuring the trumpet section.
Als op Capri de rozentuinen bloeien	Han Dunk / The Ramblers / Eddy Christiani	nl	1942	Foxtrot
Rose, Rose, I love you / Shanghai Rose / May Kway / 玫瑰玫瑰我愛你	Chen Gexin / Yao Lee / Wilfrid Thomas / Frankie Laine	en	1940	Mandarin pop classic. Allegedly the only major popular music chart hit in the United States written by a Chinese composer. Video, possibly from another time or person:
All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth	Spike Jones	en	1940	A little girl's terrible lisp is caused by her insufficient dentition. Works well at primary schools and dental conferences. Video, possibly from another time or person:
Begin the beguine	Cole Porter / Les Paul	en	1940	Beguine
Perfidia		en	1940	Bolero
Jolly Banker	Woody Guthrie / Wilco	en	1940	My name is Tom Cranker and I'm a jolly banker, / I'm a jolly banker, jolly banker am I. / I safeguard the farmers and widows and orphans, / Singin' I'm a jolly banker, jolly banker am I.
My girl's pussy	Robert Crumb & his Cheap Suit Serenaders	en	1940	Often it goes out at night, returns at break of dawn / No matter what the weather's like it's always nice and warm.
Hawaii	Mary J. Muckle / Anon / The Singing Organ-Grinder	en	1940	There are three words that sweetly blend, / That on the heart are graven; / A precious soothing balm they lend– / They’re Mother, Home and Hawaii!
In the big rock candy mountains	Harry Kirby McClintock	en	1940	Utopia vagorum.
Complainte pour l'orgue de la nouvelle barbarie	Louis Aragon	fr	1940	Wartime poem from after his conversion to Marxism: Ceux qu'arrêtèrent les barrages. / Sont revenus en plein midi. / Morts de fatigue et fous de rage.
Ketelbinkie	Anton Beuving / Jan Vogel	nl	1940	When we from Rotterdam departed / In the Edam, an ancient hulk. Tragedy of a Dutch (colonial) ship's boy who misses his mum but doesn't know how to tell her. Illegitimate offspring of Thackeray's maritime parody?
That's all folks	Looney Toons		1940
It's raining, it's pouring	Trad.	en	1939?
You are my sunshine	Jimmie Davis / Charles Mitchell / Pine Ridge Boys	en	1939	Foxtrot
Lydia, the Tattooed Lady	Yip Harburg / Harold Arlen / Groucho Marx / The Muppets	en	1939	From At the Circus. Appears as Todd's new ringtone in Breaking Bad.
The Workman's Friend	Flann O'Brien (Brian O'Nolan) / The Singing Organ-Grinder	en	1939	Porter meets the Plain People, from At Swim-Two-Birds
Valzer dell'organino	Bruno Cherubini / C.A. Bixio	it	1938	More organ-grinder nostalgia.
With her head tucked underneath her arm	Rudy Vallee	en	1937	Comic Anne Boleyn ghost song
Leaning on a lamp-post	George Formby	en	1937	Surprisingly well-known on 21st century London streets.
J'attendrai / Tornerai	Trio Lescano / Carlo Buti / Rina Ketty / Jean Sablon / Tino Rossi	fr it	1937	I'll return because my heart is yours. Even better than the Tornerai Monteverdi puts into Poppea's mouth.
Ik hou van Holland	Willy Schootemeijer / Joseph Schmidt / Heintje	nl	1937
When I'm cleaning windows	George Formby	en	1936	From the film, Keep Your Seats, Please
Cool water	Bob Nolan / Hank Williams / Sons of the Pioneers	en	1936	Gloss on Psalms 42:1: I and my mule, Dan, are crossing the desert when we see a mirage: Can you see that big green tree / Where the water's running free / And it's waiting there for you and me? Video, possibly from another time or person:
The Spring (Arrangements) Bill	A.P. Herbert / The Singing Organ-Grinder	en	1936	Universal basic income, old style: If any person feels he must get out of London now or bust, because the Spring is in his bones, but he must work for Mr. Jones, it shall be lawful for the same to give the Treasury his name, and say 'Upon sufficient grounds I want about a hundred pounds': and there shall not be any fuss concerning sums expended thus.
The tale of Custard the dragon	Ogden Nash	en	1936	Very childish: the dragon was a coward, and she called him Custard
Pennies from heaven	Arthur Johnston / Johnny Burke / Bing Crosby	en	1936	You'll find your fortune falling all over the town / Be sure that your umbrella is upside down.
Wunderbar	Zarah Leander	en	1935?	Popularised in Britain as 'Wonderbra'
Утомлённое солнце (Weary sun)/To ostatnia niedziela (This is the last Sunday)	Jerzy Petersburski / Zenon Friedwald / Iosif Alvek / Pavel Mikhailov	ru	1935	Polish tango about failed love, also done in a Russian, Black Sea-ish version. Featured in Yuriy Norshteyn's stunning Tale of Tales. Video, possibly from another time or person:
Shave 'em dry	Lucille Bogan	en	1935	I've got nipples on my titties big as the end of my thumb / I got something tween my legs 'd make a dead man come.
To The Tabulating Machine Division (IBM Songbook)	IBM employees	en	1935	Punch a card for every sale that's made. / There's a record which will never fade. / Sort them out by man and state - / Speedily we tabulate. Etc. etc.
Old Dan Tucker	Cackle Sisters	en	1935	Song about a simple man, with cackle chorus. Why? Because that's how the sisters sang. Video, possibly from another time or person:
Rosetta	George Handy / Bob Wills	en	1935	Western swing
Nobody loves a fairy when she's 40	Arthur Le Clerq / Tessie O'Shea	en	1935
Your feet's too big	Ada Benson / Fred Fisher / The Ink Spots	en	1935
Ugly woman	Roaring Lion / Sir Lancelot / Jimmy Soul	en	1934	If you want to be happy and live a king's life, never make a pretty woman your wife!
Youkali	Kurt Weill	fr	1934	Possibly the best tango ever.
Isle of Capri / C'est à Capri	Will Grosz / Jimmy Kennedy / Lew Stone	en nl fr	1934	Sometimes with lyrics featuring the River Lea / Lee in East London: Twas on the banks of the Lea that I met her / Under the shade of an old apple tree / Now I can still hear the sirens around me / As I lie bleeding in A and E.
Complainte de Fantômas	Robert Desnos / Kurt Weill	fr	1933	Allongeant son ombre immense / Sur le Monde et sur Paris / Quel est ce spectre aux yeux gris / Qui surgit dans le silence? / Fantômas, serait-ce toi / Qui te dresse sur les toits?
Ursonate / Sonate in Urlauten	Kurt Schwitters		1932	Schwitters wanted to destroy conventional forms. This mashup with JS Bach and reggaetón is a revenge of the nerds.
Zuiderzee	Louis Davids	nl	1932	The consequences of the construction of the Afsluitdijk dam, which turned the Zuyder Zee from a North Sea inlet into a fresh-water lake.
Love is the sweetest thing	Al Bowlly / Ray Noble	en	1932
Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun	Noël Coward	en	1931	A masterpiece of rhythm and rhyme dealing with the importance of adjusting one's dress to circumstances: The toughest Burmese bandit can never understand it. / In Rangoon the heat of noon is just what the natives shun. / They put their scotch or rye down, and lie down.
Oh zwarte zigeuner / Oh, play to me gypsy (Cikánka)	Harry de Groot / Karel Vacek / Melody Boys / Willy Derby / Willy Alberti / Johnny Jordaan / Gracie Fields	nl en	1931	Slow foxtrot.
My brother makes the noises for the talkies	Albert Whelan / Jack Payne / Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band	en	1931
De kikkertjes	Anon	nl	1930?	Dutch frogs are a sight for sore eyes.
Doris the goddess of wind	Douglas Byng	en	1930?	From his royal campness. Used in Alan Bennett's 2010 play The Habit of Art.
Zeg, Roodkapje, waar ga je heen?	Trad.	nl	1930?	Red Riding Hood, in Dutch, now with a Spanish version.
Seven skeletons found in the yard	Lord Executor aka Felix Garcia (ca.1878-1952)	en	1930	From a calypso genius and the king of extempo: Hideous discoveries and monstrous crime / Always happen at the Christmas time. Video, possibly from another time or person:
Chinatown, my Chinatown	Jean Schwartz	en	1930	Jackie Chan edition. Virtual excerpt:
Mijn kleine groene cactus	Comedian Harmonists / Gerrit Bellers	nl de	1930	Dutch text by Gerrit Bellers: Bloemen en planten, zoals chrysanten, / Of rozen, tulpen en narcissen, / Willen de mensen, zo zijn hun wensen, / Ik hoef ze niet, ik kan ze missen.
Hengeler weend	Comedian Harmonists / Fred van de Ven	nl	1930	Low Saxon lyrics by Hengelo's municipal poet Fred van de Ven.
La gallina Papanatas	Monreal	es	1930	Mexican corrido about a prolific hen.
Rumba Tambah	Lecuona Cuban Boys	es	1930	Rumba
Organ grinder's swing	Jimmie Lunceford	en	1930	Slow foxtrot
Howling Cowman Blues	Wolfman	en	1930	The Organ-Grinder is better at cows than wolves.
It's only a paper moon	Harold Arlen	en	1930
Canto Siboney	Ernesto Lecuona	en es	1929	Nino Rota's use of this in multiple guises dominates the soundtrack of Fellini's Amarcord. Video, possibly from another time or person:
Tarantella	Hilaire Belloc	en	1929	Belloc met Miranda Mackintosh at an inn in the Pyrenean hamlet of Canranc on the River Aragon in 1909. Video, possibly from another time or person:
Breakaway (Fox Movietone Follies of 1929)	Jack Hylton	en	1929	Foxtrot. It's got the snappiest syncopation.
A tale of the ticker	Frank Crumit	en	1929	I bought an elevator stock, / And thought that I'd done well. / Then the little bears all ran downstairs, / And rang the basement bell.
Cabaret boys	Douglas Byng / Lance Lister	en	1928	Camp classic from the Pansy Craze, with numerous double entendres
Berlin im Licht	Kurt Weill	de	1928	Foxtrot written for a festival of light staged by the Berliner Stadtwerke power company for the 1928 Berlin Festival. A companion piece to the Dutch electricity workers' union song, Op naar het licht.
Mackie Messer / Mack the Knife	Bertolt Brecht / Kurt Weill	de en	1928	Originally intended for performance with barrel organ.
I can't give you anything but love	McHugh-Fields	en	1928
Barnacle Bill the sailor	Hoagy Carmichael / Bix Beiderbecke / Tex Morton / Betty Boop	en	1927	It's only me from over the sea / I'm all dressed up like a Christmas tree. With interludes featuring Benny Hill alla turca and the Beautiful Blue Danube (it's brown). Virtual excerpt: Video, possibly from another time or person:
El menú	Zöllner / Arregui Trecet	es	1927	La versión conocida es la de Los Xey (1953), pero canto la que se hizo para la Coral del Ensanche de Bilbao.
The lonesome road	Nathaniel Shilkret / Gene Austin / Joan Baez	en	1927
Don't have any more, Mrs Moore	Lily Morris	en	1926?	Too many double gins / Give the ladies double chins
En el jardin del Prado / La señorita Pepa / El patio de mi casa	Potpourri of Valencian play songs from the 1920s	es	1925	La señorita Pepa, que creida está / Se va a morir de tanto pensar. / Si piensa con su novio, su novio no la quiere / Por eso la pobre de pena se muere.
Lavender cowboy	Harold Hersey / Burl Ives	en	1923	A gayboy & western classic: He died with his six guns a-smoking / But only two hairs on his chest.
The barking policeman (parody of The laughing policeman)	George W. Johnson / Charles Penrose / Richard Littlejohn	en	1922	Tribute to PC Steve Hutton of Swindon, who devised an interesting way of mitigating police cuts.
It's a long way from amphioxus	Philip H. Pope	en	1921	Evolution, sung to Tipperary: Well, it's goodbye to fins and gill slits, and it's welcome lungs and hair! / It's a long, long way from Amphioxus, but we all came from there.
Sheik of Araby	Smith-Wheeler-Snyder / Mr. Goon-Bones / Ted Baxter	en	1921	I'm the Sheikh of Araby, this sand belongs to me. Foxtrot
Jingle bells / Campanelle, campanelle, belle belle		en it	1920	Anglo-Italian version based on Lou Monte. Virtual excerpt:
El dilluns jo no treballo	Valenciano	ca	1920	Song in Valencian lists the days of the week on which I don't work. Their number is lucky. Video, possibly from another time or person:
On the sunny side of the street		en	1920	Foxtrot
Five foot two, eyes of blue	Henderson	en	1920	Foxtrot
Panpipe call used by an itinerant French pot-mender and pig-gelder in Galicia	Trad.	es fr	1920	With humorous quotes from Spanish Golden Age theatre (inc Quevedo and Calderón), sketching the accent, appearance and behaviour of French castrators and pot menders in the 16th/17th centuries. (Ambulant moped-chain-powered knife-grinders in Barcelona and other Mediterranean cities still use panpipes as advertising medium, but with less sophistication.)
Regionalismo	Francisco Vighi / The Singing Organ-Grinder	es	1920
El nuevo Ford	Cubano	es	1920
I'm living alone and I like it	Sophie Tucker	en	1920
Silent night	Trad.	en	1920	See also Carloons.
Don Pasquito at the seaside (Façade)	Edith Sitwell / William Walton	en	1920
My old man said follow the van	Marie Lloyd / Lily Morris	en	1919	For Josep Viladot, great Londoner, exiled in Gracia, Barcelona.
K-K-K-Katy	Geoffrey O'Hara	en	1918
Second Sonata, The Airplane, fragmento	George Antheil		1916	Everything's back to front: The Singing Organ-Grinder is the plane.
Had je me maar	Louis Davids	nl	1916	Song that provided the nickname for the Dutch anarchist politician, Cornelis de Gelder.
Toccata No. 2	George Antheil		1916
My old tunes	Edward Elgar	en	1915	From Elgar's incidental music for The Starlight Express, a children's play by Violet Pearn based on the imaginative novel A Prisoner in Fairyland by Algernon Blackwood: My old tunes are rather broken / And they come from far away, / Bring just a little token / Of a long-forgotten day. Video, possibly from another time or person:
Mashup: Petrushka + My old man's a dustman	Igor Stravinsky / Lonnie Donegan	en	1915	Portrays on the organ the orchestral imitation by Stravinsky of a barrel organ and a musical box. The video shows the Bolshoi dancing my arrangement. Ends with one of my favourite children's songs. Video, possibly from another time or person:
Ballad of Lydia Pinkham		en	1914?
Sports et divertissements	Erik Satie	en	1914	A selection, in English.
La violetera	José Padilla	es	1914	Early Raquel Meller hit: Como aves precursoras de primavera / En Madrid aparecen la violeteras / Que pregonando parecen golondrinas / Que van piando, que van piando.
Le pont Mirabeau	Guillaume Apollinaire / Léo Ferré	fr en	1912
Woad aka National Anthem of the Ancient Britons	William Hope-Jones	en	1910	To Men of Harlech: Saxon, you can waste your stitches / Building beds for bugs in britches: / We have woad to clothe us, which is / Not a nest for fleas.
Crits del carrer	Joan Amades Cançoner / English C17th canon	ca	1910	Audience participation required in this canon consisting of the cries (in Catalan) of the vendors of potatoes, hats and chocolate. As good in its way as Clément Janequin, Voulez ouyr les cris de Paris
Fleur de blé noir	Théodore Botrel / Toscani	fr	1910	Dans une métairie / Comme aide berger, / Pour mieux voir ma jolie / Je me suis gagé.
La nina encantada	Joan Amades (Cançoner)	ca	1910	Jaime I of Aragón hunts his Hungarian queen, Violante, in the form of a stag. Alludes to the foundational myth of the Danubian country. Anti-folky version.
England and America. I. On a Rhine Steamer	James Kenneth Stephen	en	1909	In short it's due to thee, / Thou kind of Western star, / That we have come to be / Precisely what we are. / But every now and then, / It cannot be denied, / You breed a kind of men / Who are not dignified
The teddy bear's picnic	John Bratton	en	1907	Don't go into the woods. Video, possibly from another time or person:
Holland ze zeggen	Simon Abramsz	nl	1906
Frankie and Johnny were lovers	Frank Crumit / Hughie Cannon	en	1904	She done him wrong.
The clean song	Trad.	en	1900s?	There once was a farmer who sat on a rick / A ranting and raving and waving his / Fist at some people who sat on his walls etc. etc.
She moved through the fair	Trad. / Alan Stivell	en	1900s	One of the most beautiful songs around. Stivell's version famously floated the melody over the accompaniment.
Incy wincy spider	Trad.	en	1900?
Valencia	José Padilla	es	1900	Based on a piano roll scan. It's as if the arranger located Valencia on the east coast of Asia instead of that of Spain. / Basado en un escaneo de rollo de pianola. Parece que el arreglista ubicó Valencia en la costa levantina de Asia en vez de España.
La maquinista: polka corejada	Josep Anselm Clavé	ca	1900	Clavé trolls the anarchists: Dali sens descans, / es lo pa de la familia, / la suor de nostre afany.
O sole mio	Giovanni Capurro / Eduardo di Capua	it en nl	1898
The Organ-Grinder's Serenade	Charles K. Harris	en	1897	He plays for a small girl in life and death: She's going to die. Please sir, don't cry. / Play her your serenade.
El chincatapunchincógrafo, etcétera	Antonio Rodríguez Martínez / Coro “Los Abanicos”	es	1897	Song about the marvels of electricity: En la época presente / no hay nada tan floreciente / como la electricidad... Hasta yo creo que un aparato de inventará / para fabricar chiquillos / por medio de la electricidad.
Happy birthday to you		en es ca	1893	I believe I can sing this now without being sued by copyright lawyers. Video, possibly from another time or person:
Paternal. Tornant del Liceu en la nit del 7 de novembre de 1893	Joan Maragall / The Singing Organ-Grinder	ca en	1893	I've done this a few times in Catalan and English but don't really know where to take it next.
Daisy bell	Harry Dacre	en	1892	Love on a tandem: But you'd look sweet / Upon the seat / Of a bicycle built for two.
Ya hemos visitado el Astillero	Los Moros Babucheros	es	1891	Working conditions in the factory at San Severiano, Cádiz could certainly be improved
Tha-ma-ra-boum-di-he / Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay	Mama Lou / Lottie Collins / Polaire	en fr	1891
She'll be coming round the mountain	Trad.	en	1890s
Mamma mia, dammi 100 lire che in America voglio andar (Mum, give me 100 lire cos I want to go to America)	Anon	it	1890ish?	About the great Italian emigration (late C19th - 1930s). Often used with children. Should 'America' now be replaced by 'London'? Cento lire io te le do, ma in America no no no! 100 lire I'll give you, but America, no no no!
Trenta giorni di nave a vapore (Thirty days in a steamship)	Anon	it	1890?	About the great Italian emigration to the Americas beginning in the late C19th.
Whip and spur	Thomas S. Allen		1890	Morning, ladies.
Two lovely black eyes / Twee ogen zo blauw	Charles Coborn / Willy Derby	en nl	1886	I learnt the Dutch lyrics first, but my Dad croons this Gladstonian warning by an East End comedian of the dangers of politics: Two lovely black eyes! / Oh! what a surprise! / Only for telling a man he was wrong, / Two lovely black eyes!
Zwei blaue Augen / Twee blauwe ogen / The two blue eyes of my sweetheart (Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen)	Gustav Mahler / Dutch translation: Jan Rot / English: T.E. Clark	de nl en	1885	Auf der Strasse stand ein Lindenbaum, Da hab' ich zum ersten Mal im Schlaf geruht!
Song of a blind Dutch organ-grinder in Iowa	Anon	nl	1884
Away in a manger	Trad.	en	1884
Epitaph for James Bosworth, who survived the Charge of the Light Brigade and died, aged 70, a stationmaster at Northam, Southampton	Ben Trovato	en	1882	His name was actually John Hacker/Hucker Bosworth and his service overseas in the 1850s doesn't seem to include Balaclava, but still a splendid thing: Though shot and shell flew around fast, / On Balaclava’s plain, / Unscathed he passed, to fall at last, / Run over by a train.
Th' owd knocker-iup	Henry Yates ('Tansy Tuft')	en	1880s?	Lancashire dialect song by a cotton worker and amateur poet from Blackburn
Erev-Yonkiper nokhn halbn tog / 'Twas on the eve of Yom Kippur	Anon	en yi	1880	Yiddish ballad of forbidden love between a Goy & a Yid, Singing Organ-Grinder's translation: 'And now is come the time of love: / Say unto me but yea or nay.' / 'Lov'st thou me yea, or lov'st me nay, / We must now part, my parents say.' Whereupon he shoots her.
The knocker-up	Anon		1880	How did factory workers get out of bed before alarm clocks?
Ride of the Valkyries	Wagner		1880	Kazoo special.
The best of Tristan und Isolde	Wagner / The Singing Organ-Grinder		1880	Wagner was a big country and western fan.
Softly awakes my heart	Saint-Saens	fr	1880	With Swanee whistle.
Blaze away march	Holzmann		1880
Laetissimam famam / Wesołą nowinę	Ryszard Ganszyniec	la	1878	Latin version of Polish carol
In een blauwgeruite kiel (Draaiersjongen)	Anton de Rop	nl	1875
Ballet of the unhatched chicks	Modest Mussorgsky		1874	Edited from an early piano roll. Virtual excerpt:
The cummerbund: an Indian poem	Edward Lear	en	1874
Manantiales de nitroglicerina (Nitroglycerin springs)	Anón	es	1873	Anarchist song: Nivelacion social!... Rota la valla / No más habrá, no más ladrones; / Partirémos sus bienes, sus millones / Cuando llegue su hora á la canalla.
The owl and the pussy-cat	Edward Lear / Mátyás Seiber	en	1871	Can be performed with a projection of the 1952 Halas and Batchelor cartoon short for which Seiber's music was written
Waar de blanke top der duinen	Pieter Louwerse / Richard Hol	nl	1870
De zilvervloot	J.P. Heije / J.J. Viotta	nl	1870
O little town of Bethlehem	Phillips Brooks / Henry Garman / Ralph Vaughan Williams	en	1868 (lyrics)	See also Carloons.
The clown in the pantomime	William Lingard	en	1868	The last that I heard / Of her and her Joey the clown, / They played in the streets / And trudged it from town into town ... If you for amusements wish, / Take advice from me in time, / You should take your girl to a music-hall, / Not to a pantomime.
Noi de la mare	Trad.	ca	1866	Best-known Catalan Christmas carol
El amor bajo la luz eléctrica	Anon	es	1865	Don't rely on electric light if you're looking for cloth or a woman: No elijas mujer ni tela / Á la luz artificial, / Porque la una y la otra / Grandes chascos suelen dar.
The Organ Grinder	Arthur Lloyd / G.W. Hunt	en	1865	Some guy's girlfriend, a banjoist, eloped with one. References Babbage and Bass's campaign against organ grinders.
Cantata nacional	Josep Anselm Clavé	es	1864	In his collection, Flores de Estío, the Catalan master utters Hispanophile sentiments which many prefer to forget: ¡Gloria á ESPAÑA! dó en paz hoy florecen / Con las ciencias, la industria y las artes; / Dó el progreso derrumba baluartes / Que en talleres se ven transformar.
Daar kom die Alibama	Trad.	af	1863	Commemorates the visit of the legendary Birkenhead-built Confederate Navy commercial raider CSS Alabama to Cape Town during the American Civil War. Video, possibly from another time or person:
Anem al treball	P.F.	ca	1863	Selection from a very long ode to work, from just before the First (Spanish) Republic: The world will always be / the same as it has been, / the poor will be with us always, / and the rich and artisans; / when God disposes, / you know what will happen: / as we find it / we will have to leave it, / let's not trust in fancies, / let's go to work.
We three kings of Orient are	John Henry Hopkins, Jr.	en	1857	See also Carloons.
Land of my fathers	Evan James / James James / Private Eye	en cy	1856	Phonetic transliteration of the Welsh: My hen laid a haddock on top of a tree / Glad farts and centurions throw dogs in the sea.
A orillas del Llobregat (Flores de Estío)	Josep Anselm Clavé	es	1852	Praise of the (industrialised) river south of Barcelona: A dar solaz al alma / Venid, niñas!... llegad! / Que aquí los céfiros / Agitan suaves / Las ramas fértiles / Donde las aves / Entonan cánticos, / Que alegran plácidos / Las ricas márgenes / Del LLOBREGAT!
Row, row, row your boat	Trad.	en	1852
When Birmingham is a seaport town	Andy Casserley / Trad.	en	1851?	Set to a lively tune.
Ostavaysya, brat Vanyukha / Stay well put, oh brother Johnny	Russian folk	ru en	1850ish	In the repertoire of Grigorovich's Petersburg Organ-Grinders
Dance to your daddy (when the boat comes in)	Trad.	en	1850?	Games and dances Video, possibly from another time or person:
k Zag twee beren		nl	1850?
Trobo divertit sens pecar de la merda y del cagar	Anon (Lérida / Lleida, C19th, printed by Coromines) / The Singing Organ-Grinder	ca	1850	An utterly filthy song in happily impenetrable Catalan: Lo vostre cul cuan cagueu, sembla unas castañolas / Your arse when it shits, sounds like castanets.
Coplas novas y divertidas las cuals esplican los mals ratos que solen donar las pusas los polls y las chinchas com nu veurà lo que no sirà siego	Ramon Barrull (Lérida / Lleida, C19th, printed by Coromines) / The Singing Organ-Grinder	ca	1850	Broadside ballad about vermin: Las chinchas es cosa bruta, / Conforme hos he dit; / Perque se solen posar, / A los pots y banchs dels llits.
Once In Royal David’s City	Cecil Frances Alexander / Henry John Gauntlett	en	1848
Limericks	Ranjit Bolt, Edward Lear et al	en	1846-2014	High-class doggerel.
Little Billee aka Little Boy Billy	William Makepeace Thackeray / Bob Roberts	en	1845	Cannibal shanty based on Thackeray's parody of La Courte Paille / Il était un petit navire (C16th?). There are also Catalan and Italian versions, but the best are the Portuguese Nau Catarineta, sung ceremonially in parts of Brazil, and the Dutch Ketelbinkie. I believe the latter is also based on Thackeray. The best-known English melody is that of Bob Roberts and has much in common with that in Harold Scott's English Song Book (1925). Ralph Steadman did a nice piratey version.
Parody of Heavenly Union	Anon	en	1845	Parody of Come, Saints and Sinners, Hear Me Tell, a hymn popular in the South, from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (1845, the Anti-Slavery Office)
Chiriví	Anón	ca	1843	Cannibal song from Barcelona's Jamancia revolt: á Cristina y Narvaez / y á tots los moderats / dintre de una paella / los freixirém plegats.
The teetotallers	Rev. John Mason Neale	en	1843	Neale was a CoE conformist activist and scourge of dissenters
Here we go round the mulberry bush	Trad.	en	1840s	Games and dances
Per fi ya enarbolat / veyem lo san pendó, / quens diu Societat, / Fraternitat y Unió.	Societat de Teixidós de Barcelona	ca	1840	Himno del primer sindicato en España, la (barcelonesa) Sociedad de Tejedores / Anthem of the first trade union in Spain, the (Barcelona) Society of Weavers
The loving ballad of Lord Bateman	William Makepeace Thackeray / Charles Dickens	en	1839	Parody of a popular ballad.
Grace Darling, a ballad	George Lindley	en	1838	A great Victorian ballad for a great Victorian heroine: The danger past, her heart beats lightly, / Her silent transport no pride betrays, / Tho' grateful tears are round her falling, / And hearts are throbbing to her praise.
Bullangas de Barcelona		es	1835	Barcelona's bull-fight rebellion, during the First Carlist War: Muy espantoso es Bullánga / Lo mismo es que Satanás, / Y este con la cruz se abate / Y aquel con la ley no mas;
I saw three ships	Trad.	en	1833
¡Año fatal! ¡Año atroz! – (Pre)juicio del año 1833	Anon	es	1832	Premonitions of the First Carlist War from an almanac: ¿Oís zumbar el cañon? / ¿Oís como cruje el parche? / ¡Quede estragos! ¡Qué de horrores! / Temblad míseros mortales.
Mary had a little lamb	Sarah Josepha Hale / Lowell Mason / Afferbeck Lauder	en	1830 / 1965	In 19th century English and then in 20th century Strine: So Mary Header little lamb / With vedgies and mint sauce. / 'Oh dearest lamb,' she cried, 'I am / As hungry as a horse.'
I love little pussy	Trad.	en	1830	Cats and mice
Ave Maria	Bach-Gounod		1830	With Swanee whistle
Der Leiermann (Winterreise)	Wilhelm Müller / Franz Schubert	de	1827	The owner of a hurdy-gurdy, which is not the same as a barrel organ.
Cease, ye noisy Minstrels, cease	Anon	en	1826	Splendidly awful poem about street performers.
Ode to Joy / An die Freude	Schiller / Beethoven / Rowan Atkinson	de en	1824	Bremain would have won if they'd featured this in their ads. Perhaps.
Das Grab ist tief und stille (The grave is deep and silent)	Salis / Nägeli	de	1822	Accompanies the story 'Diogenes with his barrel-organ.'
Aiken Drum	Trad.	en	1820	Riddles and nonsense.
Complainte de Fualdès	Moreau et Catalan / Trad.	fr	1818	In 1817 a judicial official was murdered in Aveyron and hurdy-gurdies or barrel organs were used to drown out his cries.
The Famous Battle of Waterloo	Anon.	en	1815	Ballad lament
The patriot's hymn	Samuel Bamford	en	1815	Parody on God Save the King in response to Waterloo
The holly and the ivy	Trad.	en	1810?
Twinkle, twinkle, little star	Trad.	en	1806 (melody 1761)	Lullabies
Pussy cat, pussy cat, where have you been?	Trad.	en	1805	Cats and mice
Marmotte (Das Jahrmarktsfest zu Plundersweilern / Op. 53 no. 7)	Goethe / Beethoven	de en	1805	Parody of a Savoyard organ grinder and his marmot at a fair: It's many a land I've travelled through, / Avecque la marmotte, / And I always found some thing to chew, / Avecque la marmotte.
Polly put the kettle on	Trad.	en	1803	See also O du lieber Augustin.
The Barrel-Organ	Charles Dibdin	en	1802	Parody of a London German organ-grinder, who intersperses his song with other Dibdin songs: De midshipman wid de pretty girl, / He say for a tune are you willing; / So I pull out de stop and I grind and I twirl, / And all to get an odd chilling.
Luchinushka	Russian folk	ru	1800ish	In the repertoire of Grigorovich's Petersburg Organ-Grinders
Katinka	Russian folk	ru	1800ish	The belle of the village was Katie. In the repertoire of Grigorovich's Petersburg Organ-Grinders
El lobo devorador	Trad.	es	1800	A ravenous wolf in 19th century Spain. I don't think it's a metaphor for George Borrow: Es posible, justo cielo / que permita tu bondad / que contra el hombre se ensañe / una fiera sin piedad?
Guter Mond du gehst so stille, durch die Abendwolken hin (Oh, dear Moon, you go so quietly, / Through the evening clouds away)	Anon	de	1800	Accompanies the story 'Diogenes with his barrel-organ.' Based on the version from Ludwig Erk's 1838 folksong collection.
El cura enfermo	Anon	es	1800	Priestly love, Cadiz style: Estando un curita malito en la cama, / a la media noche llamó a la criada. / -¿Qué tiene el curita, tan deprisa llama? / -Quiero chocolate, lo quiero en la cama.
Voici trois Bohémiens	Provençal	fr	1800	Three gypsies read the palm of the baby Jesus: Tu es, c’est mon avis, Car je le lis, de Dieu le fils tout adorable.
O du lieber Augustin		de	1799
Hot cross buns	Trad.	en	1798	Food
Gott erhalte unsern Kaiser! (God save our Kaiser!)	Joseph Haydn / Freiherr v. Zedlitz	de	1797	Austrian imperial anthem with lyrics in use around 1813 during the reign of Franz I. Accompanies the story 'Diogenes with his barrel-organ.'
Diddle diddle dumpling	Trad.	en	1797	Lullabies
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall	Trad.	en	1797	Riddles and nonsense. Some busts are for ever.
Tom, Tom, the piper's son	Trad.	en	1795
The birdcatcher's song (Magic Flute)	Mozart	en	1791
Ring a ring o' roses	Trad.	en	1790s	Games and dances
Lang zal hij leven		nl	1790?
Budget day	John Freeth		1790	Government debt and a spendthrift establishment, but will posterity pay?
Herr Bacchus	Anon	de en	1789?	Comparisons with Apollo in a drinking song!
Los ayres fijos: poema didáctico en seis cantos	José Viera y Clavijo	es	1784	Ode to a hot-air balloon: Moradores de Nesle ¿Que es aquello / Que veis venir rasgando el Horizonte? / No es la ascencion de Ganimedes bello, / Ni el precipicio del audaz Faetonte, / Del Iris matizado no es destello, / Ni el Pegaso que dexa el doble monte; / Es la Nave Aërostática velera / De Argonautas que surcan la atmosféra.
The tripe eaters	John Freeth		1782	In his bio, on my Amazon wishlist
Die Gedachte sind frei / De gedachten zijn vrij		de nl	1780s	Freiheitslied from SW Germany (?)
Abendlied	Matthias Claudius	de	1779	Der Mond ist aufgegangen...
(American) liberty song, with parody, and parody of that parody			1768	Tune: hearts of oak.
Rock-a-bye baby	Trad.	en	1765	Lullabies
Hey diddle diddle	Trad.	en	1765	Riddles and nonsense.
La locura más discreta que se dice executó la villa de Níjar del obispado de Almería, el día trece de septiembre de este presente año de 1759	Diego Ventura Rejón y Lucas	es	1759	Vía Ortega y Gasset, a tale of popular madness: Con aquestos desbaratos / toda casa esta assolada, / no dejando tales tratos, / cazos, sillas, platos, nada, / ni aun la nada entre dos platos.
O come, all ye faithful	Frederick Oakeley / John Francis Wade	en	1751 (tune) / 1841 (English lyrics)
London Bridge is falling down	Trad.	en	1750ish (lyrics) / 1879 (tune)
La rejouissance (Music for the royal fireworks)	Handel		1749	With kazoo. How can you rejoice wihout kazoos?
Oranges and lemons	Trad.	en	1744?	Games and dances
Mary, Mary, quite contrary		en	1744 (lyrics)
Hickory dickory dock	Trad.	en	1744	Cats and mice
Who killed Cock Robin?	Trad.	en	1744	One of the greatest murder songs in English: Who killed Cock Robin? / I, said the Sparrow, / with my bow and arrow, / I killed Cock Robin.
Sing a song of sixpence	Trad.	en	1744
Chanson nouvelle sur les cris de Paris / New song on the cries of Paris	Anon	fr en	1738	Translated excerpt, featuring organ-grinders and their marmots.
Baa, baa, black sheep	Trad.	en	1731
La poule (Suite in G major/G minor)	Rameau	fr	1726?	With added chicken noises
Little Jack Horner	Trad.	en	1725	Food
Malbrook s'en va-t-en guerre / Mal'bruk na voynu edet	Russian folk	ru fr	1709ish	In the repertoire of Grigorovich's Petersburg Organ-Grinders
The dragon of Wantley	Trad.	en	1700?	To see this fight, all people then / Got up on trees and houses, / On churches some, and chimneys too, / But these put on their trowses.
Pat a cake, pat a cake, baker's man	Trad.	en	1698	Food
Noë per tsanta à la Grand Messa / Noel to be sung at the Great Mass	Trad.	oc en	1690?	Savoyard carol in Provençal from Bessans in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, early focus of organ-grinders and other ambulants. Features angels singing like organs and marmottes. Abridged translation into English.
St. George for England	John Grubb	en	1688	The story of King Arthur old / Is very memorable, / The number of his valiant knights, / And roundness of his table
Sussex Carol / On Christmas night all Christians sing	Luke Wadding / Ralph Vaughan Williams / David Willcocks	en	1684
Here, here, here is pig and pork		en	1680s	Irish anti-Catholic song: Giving an Account of a Father Wifely, the Popish Bishop of Kildare in Ireland, and a Shop-keeper's Wife in High-street, Dublin.
Barbara Allen	Joan Baez / Jim Moray	en	1660s?	Great song: Young man, I think you're dying.
To a lady that desired me I would beare my part (sic)	Richard Lovelace / The Singing Organ-Grinder	en	1649	First use of 'serenade' in English: What, though 'tis said I have a voice; / I know 'tis but that hollow noise / Which (as it through my pipe doth speed) / Bitterns do carol through a reed.
The World Turned Upside Down (melody: When the King Enjoys His Own Again)	Anon / Martin Parker	en	1646	A protest from the Thomason Collection of Civil War Tracts against Parliament's proscription of Christmas traditions. Not to be confused with the Leon Rosselson song made famous by Billy Bragg.
Dialogue Between a Glutton and an Echo	Anon	en	1634	Echo verse with audience participation. Lead: My belly I do defy. Echo: Fie!
A dogge of warre	John Taylor	en	1628	In doggrell Rimes my Lines are writ, / As for a Dogge I thought it fit.
O Jesulein süss! O Jesulein mild!	Georg Christian Schemelli	de en	1620	O little one sweet, O little one mild, thy Father's purpose thou hast fulfilled.
Een kindelien zo lovelik / Ein Kindelein so löbelich	Trad.	nl de	1618	My favourite Low German carol.
Heer Jesus heeft een hofken daer schoon bloemen staen	Anon	nl	1617	Lord Jesus has a garden with beautiful flowers ... make of my heart your garden, it is ready / Seigneur Jésus a un jardin où se trouvent de belles fleurs ... fais de mon cœur votre jardin, il est prêt / Heer Jesus heeft een hofken daer schoon bloemen staen ... maect van mijn hert' u hoveken, het is bereyt
O Tannenbaum / Oh Christmas tree	Ernst Anschütz / Melchior Franck	de en	1615	On request I will also sing the mildly smutty Low Saxon version.
A roaring boy's description	Samuel Rowlands	en	1612	London hooligans, from 'A Paire of Spy-Knaves'
The three ravens	Trad.	en	1611	A dead knight's hawks, hounds and girlfriend deny them dinner
Three blind mice	Trad.	en	1609 / 1805	Both the original and the modern versions are available
When that I was and a little tiny boy (Hey, ho, the wind and the rain)	William Shakespeare / John Harle		1601	Feste the Fool's closing song from Twelth Night. Version of Elvis Costello's version of the traditional version sung by Alfred Deller.
Sweetest love, I do not goe	John Donne / Ralph Steadman / The Singing Organ-Grinder	en	1600?	It cannot be / That thou lov'st me, as thou say'st, / If in thine my life thou waste, / That art the best of me.
Dale si le das, mozuela de Terrassa	Anon / Cancionero de Barbieri	es	1600	Early modern joke song, where the expected obscenity always turns into something inoffensive: Una mozuela de Logroño / Mostrado me habia su co.......po de lana negro que hilaba. Con una larga etcétera.
Es ist ein Ros' entsprungen / Lo, how a rose e'er blooming	Michael Praetorius	de en	1599	My favourite Marian hymn.
The willow song	Trad.	en	1590s?	Desdemona sings it and then her beloved Othello murders her
Good King Wenceslas / Tempus adest floridum	John Mason Neale	en la	1582 (melody) / 1853 (English lyrics)	Bohemian fantasy.
Ding dong bell, pussy's in the well	Trad.	en	1580	Cats and mice
Het Wilhelmus	Trad.	nl	1570?	Naar de versie voor Dubbele Biphone die door de Leidse politie in 1940 in beslag werd genomen en in 2012 voor het eerst opnieuw werd uitgevoerd.
Old 100th / All people that on earth do dwell / Herr Gott, dich loben alle wir	Loys Bourgeois / William Kethe	en de	1561	Available in full version and in mid-C19th small organ pastiche.
A frog he would a wooing go	Trad.	en	1548	Fate
The hunt is up	William Gray	en	1540?	16th century Brexit metaphor? The hunt is up, the hunt is up, / And it is well nigh day; / And Harry our king is gone hunting, / To bring his deer to bay.
Coventry Carol	Robert Croo	en	1534 (lyrics) 1591 (tune)	Herod is slaughtering the Innocents: Then woe is me, poor Child, for Thee, / And ever mourn and say; / For Thy parting, nor say nor sing, / By, by, lully, lullay.
Villançico contrahaziendo a los mocaros que sienpre van ynportunando a los peregrinos con demandas	Juan del Encina	lf	1520ish	A beggars' song: the poet was in the Holy Land in ±1520 and tried to reproduce the lingua franca of the hordes of fake amputees and saints who plagued poor pilgrims there and at home: 'Benda ti istran plegrin: / benda, marqueta, maidin. / Benda, benda stringa da da / agugeta colorada. / Dali moro namorada / y ala ti da bon matin.'
A the syghes that cum from my hart	Anon.	en	1500?	Farewell, my joy, and welcome pain
Morenica a mí me llaman	Anon	es	1500	Song about skin pigment from the Sephardic repertoire: 'Morenica a mí me llaman, / Yo blanca nací. / El sol del enverano / a mí me hizo ansí, / Morenica y graciosica sois.' See also: 'Aunque soy morena / no soy de olvidar / que la tierra negra / pan blanco suele dar.' And Lope: 'El astrólogo me dijo / verdad pura; que si tengo / Hijos, ajedrez serán, / Pues serán blancos y negros.' And William Blake: 'My mother bore me in the southern wild, And I am black, but O! my soul is white;' etc etc
Es ist ein Schnee gefallen	Anon	en de	1467	Wonderful translation by J.K. Annand: It's snawin cats and dugs, / Winter's owre early, / Hailstanes blatter my lugs 7 The road is smoorit fairly.
Der Kampf des Roraffen mit dem Hanen	Anon / The Singing Organ-Grinder	de en	1450?	Translated excerpt from a Low German saga in which a puritanical rooster-man drives a fun-loving monkey-man out of Strasbourg Cathedral.
For hagese	Anon / The Singing Organ-Grinder	en	1430	Rhymed medieval haggis recipe: Þe hert of schepe, þe nere71 þou take, / Þo bowel no3t þou shalle forsake.
The cherry tree carol	Trad.	en	1400s	Based on the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew and probably basically C15th: When Joseph was an old man, / An old man was he, / He married Virgin Mary, / The Queen of Galilee.
In dulci jubilo	Heinrich Seuse / Robert Pearsall	en de la	1328	I do both the German-Latin original and the popular Pearsall Anglicisation
Sumer is icumen in	Anon. / Ezra Pound / Peter Firmin / Oliver Postgate	en	1250	Round progressing from Wessex Middle English (The bullock stirs, the stag farts, / Merrily sing, Cuckoo!) via miseryguts' Ancient Music (Winter is icumen in, / Lhude sing Goddamm) to the Bagpuss mice (We will fix it). Video, possibly from another time or person:
Sederunt	Pérotin	la	1200s	Great example of organum (ca. 1200) from the master of Notre-Dame. Tenor here. Bi ther grete criyng of song, as deschaunt, countre note and orgene, thei ben lettid fro studyinge and prechynge of the gospel.
Sabre dance	Aram Khachaturian / Andrews Sisters	en		Pure Orientalism: Drums are booming, cellos zooming, / Cymbals crashing, sabres flashing in a willy nilly sort of way,.
The worm song (nobody likes me)		en
Romance del cerco de Baza	Anon / The Singing Organ-Grinder	es		Sobre Baza estaba el rey, / lunes, después de yantar. My favourite Reconquista ballad, about the taking of Baeza in 1489.
The galaxy song	Monty Python	en		This is the extent of my physics. Video, possibly from another time or person:
My uncle's Sunday School		en		Lighthearted Bible education. My mum used to sing the verse about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (The Lord provides his children with an asbestos shirt). Chorus: Old folks, young folks, everbody come,/Join my uncle's Sunday School & make yourselves at home:/ Bring your sticks of chewing gum and sit upon the floor,/And we'll tell you bible stories that you never heard before Video, possibly from another time or person:
Das Lied vom braven Manne (The song of the goodly man)		de		Accompanies the story 'Diogenes with his barrel-organ.'
La fiera malvada de Jerusalén	Trad.	es		Ballad about mythical monsters: Dos cuernos en la cabeza / también alas que volaba / vestida como una tortuga / no la hería ninguna bala.
Sociedad Antonio Maceo	Israel 'Cachao' López	es		Cha-cha
Qué pena siente el alma	Violeta Parra	es		Classic Chilean organ-grinder waltz.
Ford V8	Enrique Jardiel Poncela / The Singing Organ-Grinder	es		Cuban song in praise of Henry Ford's motors: ¿Y no callé siempre y siempre me callo / los contados días que tienes un fallo?
Cuando salí de la Habana	Valenciano	es		De nadie me despedí, / Solo de un perrito chino que venía tras de mí/When I left Havana I said farewell to no one - except a little Chinese dog which came after me
Sinterklaasliedjes	Trad.	nl		Dutch Santa Claus songs.
Jilgueros	Libertad Lamarque y Joselito	es		Finches
La reina del placer		es		Habanera
Micalet Garcia	Valenciano	es		He's corrupt
Canción del cabo	Francisco Logroño, Cabo primero de la tercera Compañía de Ingenieros	es		Love song by a corporal in the 3rd Company of Engineers: Cuando llegará el día, / Que yo te pueda estrechar, / En los brazos de mi amor / Y en tu lecho descansar?
Pican los mosquitos	El payo Juan Manuel	es		Me duelen los hue...sos
El milagro de Benarrabal	Trad.	es		Muchos hay que en Dios no creen / ni a su madre la veneran / de los templos hacen mofa / y al anciano lo apedrean
Bloody Orkney	Trad	en		Substitute any trochaic township.
Come on chaps	Trad	en		Teasing/bragging song: Blackpool is the place for me, / a fishing from the rock. / I never use my fishing line, / I always use my... / Dainty little fingers...
The first Nowell		en		Born is the King of Israel.
While shepherds		en		Washed their socks by night.
Fraile, fraile, comiendo	Valenciano	es
Las mañanitas		es		Mexican birthday song.